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Cristina Iusso wasn’t even a day old before a social worker at a Brampton hospital told her parents they shouldn’t have any expectations of their daughter.

“She told us Cristina won’t grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer because she has Down syndrome,” said Mary Iusso, who remembers those stinging words as if they were spoken yesterday.

Her husband, Maurizio, interrupted, telling the woman he didn’t expect their older children, Maurizio Jr. or Alessandra, to choose those careers either — and they didn’t have DS.

From that moment, the couple recognized their youngest child would face huge barriers because of stereotypes and myths about the genetic disorder. They’ve become committed to changing attitudes about people with special needs. And Mary is doing that, one cupcake at a time.

Cupcakes? Let’s back up a bit.

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Iusso admits she didn’t know anything about Down syndrome before Cristina was born and wasn’t prepared for the diagnosis because prenatal testing hadn’t indicated it.

“I was happy I had a child that looked like me,” she said, with a big smile. So Iusso wasted no time learning all she could about the disorder, also known as trisomy 21 as it’s marked by the presence of three copies of the 21st chromosome.

She discovered a lot of negativity surrounding the disorder.

“I wasn’t going to stand for it,” said the 44-year-old businesswoman, who describes herself “as the silver lining person … . Instead of getting angry, I knew I had to change attitudes. It’s not about having the guts to do it. It’s my purpose in life.”

For the Iussos, Cristina, now 5, is a blessing. “She picked us, and I don’t want to disappoint her,” Mary Iusso said.

Buoyed by her strong faith and support from those who counted most, Iusso gave up a high-profile job to start on her new life’s work: to raise awareness about DS, establish a legacy for her daughter, and along the way provide a place for people with DS to showcase what they can do.

“In doing my research on DS I found out there would be nothing for Cristina after she graduated from high school,” she said. “Yes, there are workshops and Community Living activities, but there was nothing where she could shine. I wanted to do something about it, because she’s entitled just like anyone else.”

Iusso chose a bakery as her focus, because she happens to love cakes and cookies — “things connected with celebrations. And who doesn’t like cupcakes? They’re guiltless.”

She transformed her Brampton kitchen into a bakery and hired pastry chef Christie Phillips to work her magic, creating recipes for amazing cupcakes. It wasn’t long before the tasty morsels were flying out the door as friends, relatives and neighbours began ordering them by the dozens.

After four successful years working out of her home, Iusso opened Cristina’s Tortina Shop in a Brampton plaza on Ray Lawson Blvd. — a veritable cupcake and cookie haven in the suburbs that attracts customers from across the GTA for tempting bites such as red velvet with a shortbread cookie heart, Pazzi per Nutella nibbles, and the signature Serendipity, inspired by trisomy 21 with three flavours and 21 (give or take) sprinkles.

Customers come for the cakes — enticed by an intoxicating aroma as they enter the shop — and the cause.

Cristina’s Tortina (Italian for little cake), employs seven people aged 18 to 52 who have DS or autism, who learn their skills hands-on while working everywhere from front of the house — taking orders and serving customers — to mixing batters.

“I opened the business because if I stood on the street corner with a blowhorn to talk about DS, people would think I was crazy,” Iusso said. “At the bakery, staff and customers interact. People need to see that individuals who have DS are like them. They have different abilities rather than disabilities.”

At Cristina’s, it’s the capabilities that count.

Not long after she opened Cristina’s, Iusso’s phone was ringing off the hook with calls from parents seeking work for their special-needs children. “There’s such a great need,” she said, adding that for the most part, such young people spend their days at home, watching television, “rather than learning skills, going to college and getting out into the working world.”

When she’s not at Cristina’s, Iusso is spreading the word in the community, raising funds for those in need, volunteering with Special Olympics Brampton and organizing an all-abilities soccer team for kids 5 to 9 years old. It’s her mission in life.

“Everyone serves a purpose in this world — no matter how many chromosomes you have, or your circumstances,” she said. “You just have to find it.”

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